Billionaires in 2023 became even richer: Musk, Zuckerberg, Ratcliffe

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and most of the rest of the world’s richest people got richer in 2023. The fortunes of 38 of the top 50 richest people and 385 of the top 500 have increased this year – in one case by as much as sevenfold.

The cost of living crisis has left many around the world scrambling to put together food for the Christmas table, but for US tech billionaires and Russian oligarchs the festive period has become “solid gravy”, The Guardian claims.

From Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg at the top of the rankings to relatively small fry such as Britain’s James Dyson and Jim Ratcliffe, the new shareholder of Manchester United, the world’s richest people have mostly gotten richer in 2023, the figures show.

Even a small circle of Russian oligarchs have managed to continue to increase their fortunes, at least on paper, while ignoring the impact of economic sanctions imposed on them in many jurisdictions in response to the Ukrainian conflict, The Guardian notes.

Of the world’s 50 richest people, only 12 lost money in 2023, while the rest saw their wealth rise, albeit not adjusted for inflation. Of the top 500, 77% became richer, some by almost unimaginable amounts.

According to daily wealth data of the world’s top 500 billionaires compiled by Bloomberg, Elon Musk tops the table with a net worth of $235 billion.

Despite reports that his stake in Company X, formerly known as Twitter, fell by more than half after he paid $44 billion for it in 2022, the South African-born billionaire’s Tesla business has come to the rescue. The electric vehicle company’s shares have more than doubled this year, giving it a notional market value of nearly $816 billion and helping Musk, Tesla’s largest shareholder, increase his overall wealth by nearly $98 billion. This increase exceeds Angola’s annual GDP, The Guardian compares.

Musk’s wealth has increased in the most obvious way, but he has not achieved the largest increase in percentage terms, the publication notes.

One of the biggest winners by this measure was his rival Mark Zuckerberg, whom Elon Musk was due to face in a cage match earlier this year before the pair changed their minds. The fortune of the founder of perhaps the world’s most famous social network jumped by 184%, from $45 billion to $128 billion.

But Zuckerberg’s successes in 2023 were not the fastest among the top 50 billionaires. Indonesian conglomerate owner Prajogo Pangestu has increased his wealth roughly sevenfold thanks to a big bet on geothermal energy, landing him on the list of the world’s 50 billionaires with a net worth of $31.5 billion.

There were also notable losers. While the top 14 companies all increased their wealth, the 15th largest, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s, fell by $36 billion to $84.3 billion. The value of the Adani family’s companies collapsed after an activist investor accused Gautam of “the biggest scam in corporate history.” Adani Group has denied the allegations.

American men dominate the list of billionaires. Of the top 10 richest people, Frenchman Bernard Arnault is the only representative from the rest of the world with a fortune of $179 billion, which grew by $17.2 billion thanks to the activities of his luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

France also features the highest-ranking woman on the list, businesswoman and L’Oréal beauty empire heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who ranks 12th after a $316 million increase, bringing her net worth to $99.1 billion.

Many Russians who fell under sanctions have only become richer, which raises questions about the impact of measures aimed at limiting their financial freedom by the US, UK and EU, The Guardian states.

The UK produced 17 of the top 500 billionaires, compared with 189 from the US and 52 from China. Dyson was the richest Briton, ranking 95th in the world with a fortune of $19.9 billion after rising by $5 billion.

Not far behind in 97th place was Ratcliffe, the Monaco-based petrochemical magnate, who increased his wealth by $8.55 billion to $19.4 billion. That figure now includes a £1 billion stake in Manchester United after , as he bought 25% of the club in a deal that was completed this week.